More Than 1 Million ‘Star Wars’ Blu-ray Sets Sold

Leading up to the Sept. 16 release of the complete “Star Wars” saga on Blu-ray, some fans of the franchise were miffed about the reported changes George Lucas made to the movies for their new format. But the complaints weren’t enough to keep the complete Blu-ray collection from becoming a massive success.

Variety reported this week that sales for the box set have already topped 1 million, which translates to $84 million worldwide. U.S. fans accounted for $38 million, or about 515,000 copies of the nine-disc set. The complete collection costs about $79.99, while the original trilogy and prequel trilogy are also available as separate Blu-ray sets for about $39.99.

The complete collection includes all six movies on Blu-ray for the first time, as well as a host of special features, including deleted scenes, alternate scenes and documentaries.

Lucasfilm has been promoting the heck out of the saga’s transition to Blu-ray, but some fans took issue when reports emerged that, in typical Lucas fashion, the films would include several alterations. Lucas tends to make changes whenever the “Star Wars” saga is released on any kind of new format. This time around, the changes include the replacement of the puppet Yoda from Episode I with an all-CGI Yoda, and some audio edits to the original trilogy to include instances of Darth Vader’s drawn-out “Noooooooo!” that he screams at the end of Episode III.

But it seems Lucas has learned however he releases “Star Wars,” people will buy it. And given the record-breaking sales of the saga’s latest incarnation, the Blu-ray collection is no exception.